


Beta Testing

by LittleSongbird96



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Anxiety, F/M, If you came here for fluff you're in the wrong place, Minor Violence, My First Fanfic, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-09-11 06:49:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8963947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSongbird96/pseuds/LittleSongbird96
Summary: Years after the first lowblood rebellion, trolls have the brilliant idea of trying to retake Earth after dear old Condy died trying. Problem is, they don't know what they're doing. But they know just the Homestuck-savvy teenagers to help them do it.





	1. Crap, people are dying, this is stressful.

Awakened by sudden footsteps in the hall, I pulled my eyes open in confusion. The room was dark, save for the sliver of light clawing its way across the hotel room floor. Looking at the clock, the red digits spelled out 5:34 in the morning.

Rubbing the blur out of my eyes, I propped myself up on the bed. Outside our door I again heard the distant trampling of feet running up the hallway. Who would still be up and running this late at night? Granted it’s a comic convention, but still. Tossing the covers to the side, I stumbled my way to the identical bed next to mine. I shook the still-sleeping form tangled in the mess of blankets and strewn pillows.

“Adelaide, wake up real quick,” I muttered blearily. “People are running in the hall; is everything okay?”

My roommate twitched and shifted before screwing her eyes up in exhaustion and rolling away from me.

“People always run at night at cons,” she said with a slight whine mingled in her words, “go back to bed.”

Worry twisted my tired face. “Not at five-thirty in the morning. The people we heard earlier went to bed; who else would be up?” I nervously wrung my hands while shifting on my feet, occasionally squinting a worried glance at the crack of light, like if I looked long enough it would explain the noise down the hall.

It was then that a bloodcurdling scream shot its way down the hall to our left. Both Adelaide and I froze: that was no drunken squeal of a night owl party goer.

Adelaide sat up, she, too, quickly rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. For a moment, we both remained where we were, anxiously waiting for a follow-up cry. My toes curled into the carpet in anticipation, and I heard Adelaide crack her knuckles nervously before slowly crawling to the end of the bed, she, too, searching the crack of light for answers. The only sound we heard was the distant thump of feet and muffled, low voices down the hall.  
I crossed to the hall near the bathroom to flick on the overhead light. I was infectiously curious, and wanted to see if everything was okay. What if some drunken mess coming from a bar had fallen down an elevator shaft or something? Adelaide followed behind me after snatching her phone off the nightstand. Grabbing the door key laying on the dresser, Adelaide and I locked eyes before I gently pulled away the bolt on the door and turned the lock. The door handle was cold, as if I didn’t already have the beginnings of goosebumps. The heavy door swung open to reveal the bright hallway. Turning to the left revealed only the door to the stairs, but to our right, other groggy sleepers were poking their heads out of their doors and murmuring to each other. After hesitantly padding out into the open hall, I locked eyes with another woman two doors down, the door between us seemingly uninhabited. Our eyes asked the same question, one that neither of us had an answer to. Across the hall, a door opened to reveal an irritable white haired man.

“What in the hell is that damn noise?” he forcefully asked around him in a husky, aged voice. Everyone’s face darkened at the rude man, myself included. We didn’t have time to answer him, however. At that moment, hurried footsteps from the stairwell caught our attention briefly before a wild-looking young man in flannel pajamas burst through the door, his breathing erratic, face red from exertion, eyes darting like a hunted animal.  
“Everyone get out NOW!” he screamed at the people in the hall. He ran to the stairs and we saw him rush up the to the next flight, presumably. If we weren’t scared before, we were scared now, and the hallway exploded in voices. I shot a look at Adelaide, who was still standing in the door to our room. 

The grouchy old man spoke again, this time his voice stuttered, and his shoulders hunched in fear. 

“W-what the hell does he mean? I’m not going anywhere, I don’t see no fire or nothing.” 

His comment went unanswered as everyone in the hall was still filled with their own concerns. Some immediately went into their rooms and shut the door, others lingered in the hall, still waiting for answers.

My ears pricking, I heard more footsteps on the stairs, louder this time, yet farther away. I backed away from the door, my hand reaching for Adelaide. She took my elbow as we backed down the hall toward the stairwell on the opposite side of the hall. From the stairs, the footsteps grew louder, and with it came unintelligible shouts from a few floors down. But what resounded the most was the sound of a sudden gunshot echo up the stairs.

Not waiting to find out who was making the noise, I instinctively turned to grab Adelaide’s arm and ran. Others followed close behind, the woman who made eye contact with me ducked into her room, only to emerge a few second later with a young boy sleeping in her arms, and a diaper bag on her shoulder.

We ran, not knowing from what, but knowing we didn’t want to meet it. Glancing back, I saw only the old man left behind, his anxious frame still standing in his doorway, confusion warping his expression. I stopped for a moment, fearing for the man I didn’t know. Other people fighting to get down the hall pushed past Adelaide and I before it was just the three of us.

“Dude, come on, didn’t you hear the gunshots?” Adelaide yelled from down the hall, panic leaking into her voice. 

He didn’t get time to answer before an armoured, grey individual thrust the door open with a long barreled firearm and shot a bullet into the white haired skull. I heard Adelaide suppress a scream behind me.

I just stopped and stared.

No way.

No.

I froze in disbelief. Here standing right in front of me was no makeup adorned cosplayer I had seen earlier in the day. There was sweat beading on his forehead and running down his face that no grey makeup would have survived. The horns protruding from his scalp were no Model Magic or clay replicas. The blue emblem stamped on his broad chest was unfamiliar, but entirely recognizable.

This was an Alternian troll in the flesh.

Who had a gun. 

And had just killed an unarmed man.

Still standing in the middle of the God damn hallway, I suppose it was my own fault what happened next. He turned to look in my direction, and we locked eyes before he shot a quick glance at my nightshirt. Following his gaze, I felt my stomach drop.

Shit. 

SHIT.

Clearly stamped in purple on my black shirt was the Capricorn symbol of the Alternian highbloods.

I was fucked.

For a split second, my wide blue eyes met the yellow and blue eyes of the troll. I saw his eyebrows raise, and his lip curl into a sneer, before letting his weapon fall to his side, and begin running towards us. Adrenaline gripped my body as I spun around and sprinted down the hall, a shocked Adelaide in tow.

I could hear his heavy footsteps gaining on us, I made a sharp turn down an adjacent hallway, our bare feet skidding on bare carpet.

When turning this corner, the troll only being feet away at this point, lo and behold, at the end of this hallway was an open elevator door calling our names. I put everything I had on the last leg. I could hear Adelaide breathing heavily behind me and her feet began to plod more and more with each step. 

We reached the elevator just in time, the doors almost closing before we got to them. Right as the murderous troll was reaching for us, I whipped around and slammed my fist into his grey nose, my previous training in self defense kicking in. Blue blood began gushing from his face, and I ran into the elevator, nursing my knuckles and punching the button for the ground floor. The last thing we saw before the doors closed, was his bloodied face glaring at us in frustration as he clutched his nose.

Adelaide and I allowed ourselves a moment to breathe. Tears were streaming down Adelaide’s face, and I could feel every part of me shaking like a leaf. Who can blame us, really? We just saw a total stranger murdered in front of us. The weight of that fact fell on me as the adrenaline from the chase wore off. My hands found the railing, and I gripped it like a lifeline.

I took a few gulping breaths before I tried to speak. “Are, - are you ok?” I managed to heave out. She didn’t answer, just sobbed and slid down the wall to curl up in a fetal position. Earlier today Adelaide had been ball of energy and hype, but now, seeing her like this, it made me want to puke. My mind felt like splintered glass, and the shards weren’t going anywhere good. But I have to calm down. I forced my lungs to take long deep breaths. Panicking will do us no good, panic gets us killed. I have to be calm.

Flicking my eyes up to the floor number, I started to form a plan. Our room had been on the 27th floor, the number said 15…. Now 14. Okay. Make a plan. Plan time. Time for a plan.

My mind began ticking as we moved down floors. We’d need to stay away from the main lobby, it’s way too open. If there are more trolls around doing God knows what in there, they’d see us immediately. I thought of the route in my head, if we took the back hallway behind the elevators, we could sneak past the main room. It’d take longer, but there’s less of a chance of being seen. Then, we’d make a break for the main doors, and assuming we made it through the building, we run across the street. Okay. This is good. We can do this. With this plan in mind, I crossed again to Adelaide, who had been quietly sobbing ever since we got on. I crouched down and gently took her arm.

“Adelaide, we need to move once we get to the bottom.” I whispered into her ear.

She didn’t say anything through her hiccups, but she nodded slightly while swiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her pajamas and stood up. I could see her legs shaking. I could feel mine shaking too. I placed a hand on her back, trying my best to calm her down.

Floor five now.

“We have to be ready to go, just follow me okay?” I took her hand in mine.

“Okay.” She whispered into herself.

Floor 2.

“Stay on one side of the elevator, don’t move until I do.” I pulled her behind me as we crouched in the left corner of the elevator.  
Deep breath in and out.

Ground floor.

Ding.


	2. Wow! A whole flock of them!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit more Homestuck-y content  
> Let's meet some people! And trolls! How fun!

I hardly dared to breathe as the doors slid open. I could hear distant voices and shouts, but the elevator hallway seemed abandoned. Hesitantly, I peeked my head out of the doorway, looking both ways before pulling Adelaide with me into the hall and started quietly rushing to our left toward the front desk. The patterned carpet and plain walls flew past us as we sprinted down the hall, like kids trying not to be caught out of bed. I could hear only the sound of our soft, laboured breathing, and the quiet thud of our feet on soft carpet.

We passed empty doorways and decorative end tables that feigned ignorance of the panic that we all felt, but we kept running.

Wait,

Oh shit.

From another hallway not five feet in front of us emerged another blue blooded troll with a more muscular frame and scarred face to go with his look of resentment and menace, but still armed, looked directly at us. He raised his gun in defense, his lips parted slightly to reveal sharp teeth.  
“Hey!” He shouted at us. Then he looked down.

Once again, he took one look at my shirt and his expression shifted into recognition. That was when we started running again in the opposite direction.

But this guy didn’t run after us.

He shot.

I felt more than heard the bullet as a dead weight pull against my arm. I had to stop, Adelaide had fallen onto her stomach, her hand still clutching mine, and a single, ugly hole sat gaping at me from the middle of her back. I immediately dropped to my knees, my thoughts going blank as I tried to process what happened. There was too much blood. Too many unidentifiable organs spilling onto the drab hotel carpet. My hands hovered over the gore, not knowing what the hell to even think. I felt my breathing quicken, my face tighten in desperation and confusion. Why would that guy just someone? How can I help her? Can I help her at all? Why would he-

I didn’t finish my panicked thought before a pair of arms crushed my own against my chest in one violent upward movement, pulling my feet from the floor only to slam them back down again two feet away in the wrong direction. I kicked and struggled with every fiber of my being against the son of a bitch that had just killed an innocent woman, tears of confusion and shock now falling down my face for a girl I had only roomed with. The face behind the grey arms grunted at my heels digging into his shins, and released for a split second, only to recapture my wrists in a vice like grip in one hand, and the other on the small of my back to keep me from digging my feet into the floor, and we left Adelaide’s body behind in a quickly growing stain of blood on the floor.

The troll took quick strides and turned right to go down the hall he had come from. I tried to throw one last glance at Adelaide through my tears and shorts gasping breaths, but it was in vain. We moved too quickly for me to even see her once more. Shocked tears kept falling as I kept fighting to escape, but my struggles didn’t do much of anything because of how fast we were making our way down the halls. My heart pounded in my chest, out of sync with my halting, forced steps and short gasping breaths. The hand on my back and the scowl above my head caused my discord. Too quickly for me to mourn or calm down, the hall opened up to the main lobby, the very room I had planned to avoid.

It was loud in the lobby, louder than it had been earlier today when it was full of cosplayers and fanatics. It was too loud, every sound seemed to echo endlessly in my head. There were a lot more trolls here now, all with different blue symbols stamped on their chest, all with firearms at their sides and mean looks on their faces. Their colors and actions seemed too sharp for my eyes, everything was moving too quickly. My mind couldn’t take everything in. I saw trolls that we passed take a second glance at me, something like fear passing over their faces when their eyes made their way to the brand on my chest. I barely saw their fear through my own, but for a brief moment I felt angry, because their fear could never match my own. Anger was quickly masked again by crippling fear and anxiety. A few meaner looking trolls were barking orders while groups of humans were herded like cattle. I was dragged over to a small group of heavily guarded teenagers. They looked just as scared and confused as I was, and I noticed a few had various indicators of the same fandom as me. There was a boy in a Dirk shirt to my right, a girl clutching a scalemate plush in the back, a few others I didn’t have time to study before I was shoved into the fray. 

As I stumbled into the group, a shaky pair of arms steadied my shoulders before I could fall to the floor. I looked up to find a shock of green hair on a pale faced boy with dark purple circles under his eyes. I muttered a thanks before pulling myself to my feet.

Licking my lips, I looked around the room before saying with a low voice, “know why we’re here?”

“No.” His voice was soft and uncertain, like it was a question instead of an answer.

“SHUT it!” The troll a few feet in front of us swiveled our way to shout in a gruff voice. The green haired boy and I both flinched at the outburst. For only a fraction of a second, I locked eyes with the troll. I felt my tears drying on my cheeks, I hoped he was able to see in my eyes my panic. If he saw anything, he did nothing but turn his back. I took a deep breath and dried my face with my sleeve, and for a few seconds allowed my vision to recede into the familiar black, as if I could stay there and ignore the scene unfolding around me. But I couldn’t escape this. I pulled my hands away from my face, determined to do what I could to find out what was going on. My eyes swept the crowd, searching for anything that might make the situation seem less malevolent.

Green haired boy’s eyes followed mine, trying to glean the same answers I was. We could only stand there and watch the structured chaos from behind a wall of alien muscle and firepower. Everyone in the group was silent, and I followed suit. I could feel heavy vibrations of moving bodies beneath my bare feet, which were starting to get cold. My thoughts flashed to Adelaide, and how I couldn’t save her. I allowed myself a moment to mourn, but I found it hard since I barely knew her.

At that moment, a single blue blood marched into the room and all the guards fell silent. His emblem was the only one I had recognized all night, it was the slanted arrow my group of teenagers knew so well. I heard a small collective intake of air from the group as we knew who this new troll belonged to, none other than the infamous Zahhak family.

The Zahhak surveyed the room with a condescending sneer. Another blue blood with the air of his second in command approached him to curtly deliver something I couldn’t hear. The Zahhak listened until the second troll was finished before bellowing to the room, “MOVE OUT.” Even his second in command flinched with the order, I thought sardonically to myself.

With that command, the blue bloods surrounding everyone in the room began to herd the humans they guarded to the exit, and not gently. Those who didn’t move fast enough to the troll’s liking were giving kicks to the back, or the butt of a gun to the head. The boy and I were smart enough to keep our heads down and move quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok look I'm sorry my chapter titles are so sardonic and a mockery of the lack of humor in my actual writing.  
> http://littlesongbird96.tumblr.com/  
> Htm fam


	3. WHO MADE THIS DECISION

Oh, the irony; the very front doors I was trying to reach would be my gateway to captivity. Awaiting us outside the hotel building was a gargantuan, sleek, black ship that took up the entire street, embossed with the same glossy Capricorn symbol adorning my own chest. I guess I know who sent it, then. It’s outer shell was remarkably devoid of any reflections from the surrounding buildings. 

I expected hoards of police cars to be storming the scene, but the block was deathly quiet. The only sounds were the soft hum emitting from the aircraft and the distressed murmurs of the dozens of people being ushered onto its ramp. 

Our guarded group of Homestuck-savvy teens were the last to be escorted onto the ship. The inside was simple and unadorned, with a few seats against the walls and a small set of stairs in the back. Where it went, I could only guess. What was most prominent, however, were the pink-tinged veins that were gently pulsing all along the walls and ceiling. Our group knew what they were. It was simply a yellow-blood working the ship. No one else knew, though. I saw many of our fellow captive humans stare in horror at the foreign mechanics.

There were about 100 humans shoved into the underbelly of the ship and we were forced to sit on the floor while the blue bloods claimed the seats. A few moments after the green haired boy and I were sat down by a guard, the Zahhak boarded and moved to the front. Two bluebloods stood guard and the ramp slammed shut. A few tense moments followed before our stomachs and the ship lurched up and forward. There were a few cries of surprise from the back of the ship as we took off. People who had been in shock until this point were now panicking at the idea of flying away from the devil they know, to the devil they don’t know. They were quickly silenced with a blow to the head. Green haired boy and I huddled together for sanctuary from the violence.

He leaned close to me to whisper, “I’m Gabriel.”

“Elie.” I answered softly.

Those were the only words we dared to whisper as the ship flew off. I estimated our altitude as best as I could judging by the way my ears popped after a few minutes. After about half an hour of flight, we slowed, and a loud clang paired with a disruptive jolt shook the whole ship and indicated our stop. Everyone began to panic again. The atmosphere was tense. The bluebloods stood, enforced order, and started getting everyone up again. The ramp we came in on once again opened, this time to reveal a room the size of an indoor gymnasium crawling with trolls. It had the same pink veins, but with grey walls. As we were being pushed out of the ship, we saw to our left and right were other ship docks. The ships were shut tight and empty, except for ours.

Considering it was now about 6ish in the morning, and my day had already been rife with stressful events, I was dead on my feet. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping me going. I heard the ship door slide shut behind us, and I suddenly missed the small vessel. Of course, the guards didn’t care about that as we were hustled and stopped in the middle of the giant room. The hair stood up on my arms. This place is too vulnerable. We’re too far out of place. I saw Gabriel hug himself. He was feeling the same thing. I placed a hand on his back, doing my best to give comfort where I could. He, in turn, leaned into my touch. He was shivering. Hell, I don’t blame him, this whole situation was terrifying. I took a moment while rubbing Gabriel’s back to look at where we were. 

All around us, trolls were throwing us vaguely curious looks before going about their business. There were groups of bluebloods were traveling in loose formation, a few casually walking in pairs or trios. Scattered in the crowd were various lowbloods, I saw a lot of green shades, most were trailing other bluebloods. A few reds and oranges darted their way through the fray, but they were few and far between. Far in one corner, up a set of stairs, was a tall, important looking violet blood with a broad chest and a large set of spiky fins adorning his ears. Above us was a wide domed ceiling capped with a clear window with a stunning view of the stars. Too bad I was too traumatized to enjoy it; I was more focused on figuring out why the hell we were all here.

I got my answer in the face I knew too well.

 

Andrew Hussie.

 

From a wide doorway, at the top of a small staircase in front of our group of humans, he walked out to meet us. He was flanked by a blue guard and a troll dressed in a practical olive green set of clothes, carrying a blue clipboard. The olive blood’s eyes were lowered, but they stuck close to Hussie.

I think our teenage group gaped in unison, we were all wondering the same thing; what the hell is Andrew Hussie doing here?

The man in question walked up to meet us, stopping at the top of the stairs. He gazed at us with impassive eyes, his face showing no emotion. Confused murmurs came from the humans, none of us understood or comprehend why a perfectly normal man would be around these aliens. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Hello everyone, you must be wondering why you’re here. I’m here to explain why, and help you through it.” His voice was tight, but resigned.  
“At this point in time, you are on a ship in earth’s atmosphere manned by an alien species called trolls. They’re from a planet light years away called Alternia. To be perfectly blunt, they are here in our solar system to take over the planet.”

With this, there was a beat of silence, before and explosion of rage and indignation. Gabriel and I both jumped at the sudden reaction. People from the group of humans behind us started yelling and fighting to the front. 

“MY FAMILY IS DOWN THERE YOU SONUVA-”

“IF YOU AND YOUR FREAK FRIENDS THINK YOU CAN TAKE-”

“Why would you do this?! What have we done?”

“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU IF YOU SO MUCH AS TOUCH-”

“Just let us go! We’ll say it was all a dream, I swear it!”

I wrapped my arms around Gabriel, trying to shield both of us from the quickly advancing violence. Even some of the teens around us rose up in anger. Thinking about my home being taken over would have to wait, getting angry wasn't safe right now. 

I saw the scowls deepen on all the trolls around us, hands reaching for side arms. Before I could do anything, Hussie raised his eyebrows and nodded. In unison, a dozen gun barrels raised to point at too many temples. Anger turned to fear in an instant. Thoughts switched from the home and family they left behind, to horns and dark eyes and the thought of never seeing their home again. Screams turned to whimpers and pleas. I held on to Gabriel. His resolve back in the hotel had dissolved into frozen, shaking panic. I saw the fear in his eyes. I heard his quick, sharp breaths. I needed to help him. As everyone quieted down, I rubbed his arms and gently shushed him.

“I know that the idea isn’t pleasant, but that’s not our decision. You are all here to help the annexation go as smoothly as possible, with as few deaths as possible. I think we can all agree that people don’t need to die.” His eyes once again scanned the crowd, as if challenging anyone in the crowd to say different. When no one raised their voice, he continued with a hard face.

“As you are now, you will be divided into groups. Healthy adults will go with our bluebloods for training. Alternia is a much different planet, and you will need to be strong. These adults will be divided between the leaders of the planet to work. Your presence with those leaders will teach trolls how to keep humans alive in mass. If those adults make trouble, the humans that come later will face hell because of them. Keep that in mind.”

I took a quick look around. Many people looked nervous now, I could see some collapsing in on themselves to seem small and frail. I didn’t blame them.

“Those with any sort of medical skills will be grouped with some of the troll’s best and brightest to do the same thing; keeping humans alive and well.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a middle aged man with grey hair wince.

“And some of you will be coming with me. We have a specific task in mind.” With this statement, he looked right at our group in front. I protectively gripped Gabriel to my chest, half for him, and half for the symbol on my chest. I could only guess what he had in mind.

Hussie straightened his back and turned to the olive blood next to him. “Kailla, separate those people out now.” he said lowly. My stomach dropped. Gabriel stiffened. Kailla looked at their clipboard, and back to us. The lithe troll made their way down two stairs in even, small steps. Olive, slanted eyes flicked from clipboard to crowd, until they rested a figure in front of me and to my left. A single finger stretched out to point.

“That one.” announced a smooth, low voice.

All of our eyes rested on the first person to be chosen. 

It was a dark-skinned girl in a sailor moon t-shirt and pajama shorts. She took a step back from the blueblood who stepped forward and took her arm to lead her off a few feet away, none too gently. Maybe she was in shock. She wasn’t fighting at all. 

Kailla swept through the group like the plague, isolating teenagers and pointing for them to be led off to join the first girl. Panic was spreading fast, everyone moving to the outside of the group, pushing as much as they dared against the bluebloods. Some didn’t handle being chosen well, they fought and shouted, but in the end were muscled away no matter the effort they expended. A few were definitely going to have bruises. Thank the Lord no one was seriously hurt. A dozen people had been carted away before Kailla hit a snag in the systematic separation.

It was a tall, broad, blonde young man with white and red pajamas.

He was panicking. Too much. His eyes were wild, and bloodshot. Exhaustion was getting to him. He didn’t react well.

He sprung away from Kailla and the guard after a finger was aimed at his chest, I could hear his labored breathing from where I was a few feet away. His voice was hoarse and cracking.

“Fuck no, don’t touch me! I’m not going with you! Let me go home!”

The blueblood snarled and reached for the boy. Bad move. Blonde boy sunk a fist right into his stomach. The poor grunt on the other end dropped like a stone. In an instant, the entire circle had guns raised. This didn’t help blonde boy. He was a cornered animal. You could see the desperation in his eyes. I saw fingers on triggers, no hesitation to take a life. My heart jumped. As awful as this situation was, Hussie was right. No one needed to die, I needed to stop all of them from doing something stupid, because who else would?

I looked into Gabriel’s eyes, “I need to help him.” 

He gave a small nod. “Be careful.” He said in a shaky voice.

I nodded back and let go of his shoulders, and pushed my way towards the boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me for the cliffhanger, hopefully chapter 4 won't take long to get out. Anyways, I'm alive. That's good. Thank all of you who left kudos and comments, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a small heart attack when I got the notifications.


	4. Sure it's big enough, but look at the location!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe one day we'll actually get to do plot things

It was crazy, to be sure, but it got the job done.

I jumped in front of a gun aimed at blonde boy’s chest.

I could feel the room freeze around us. The boy stopped what he was doing, I could see his hands hover over my shoulders.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a small shaky voice.

Where it was, the gun was right in the middle of my forehead. I could feel how warm the boy was behind me, but I was focused on the troll in front of both of us.

The room was silent.

My small, huffing breaths chafed against cool air.

No one could believe what I had done, in their own minds gripped by self-preservation.

I looked into the alien’s eyes.

I pleaded with my own.

I saw something shift in the troll’s gaze. His anger turned to confusion, then curiosity. I saw his finger gently ease off the trigger out of the corner of my eye.

Slowly, I brought one hand up to grip the gun.

And pushed it away in a single, swift motion.

The troll’s eyes were still locked on mine as he lowered his gun further to his side. His pupils were blown and his face flushed blue as I straightened my back. I felt shaking hands on my shoulders. I finally broke the troll’s gaze to focus on the boy behind me.

He was crying. Deep, ugly tears ran down his ruddy face. His hair was askew all over his head, and his shoulders were hunched. Just like Adelaide, he was shaking like a leaf.

I let him cry for a moment, and looked up. All eyes were on us. The humans looked close to tears themselves, the trolls looked flabbergasted. And Hussie had the strangest look on his face. It was a combination of amazement and worry, and interest. I didn’t like it. All of their eyes made my skin crawl.

I hooked one hand under the boy’s arm, doing my best to pull him away. 

“Time to go.” I said as firmly as I could manage.

He sniffed and slowly rose to his full height. He was at least a foot taller than me, but it wasn’t me who felt small. Placing a hand on the small of his back, I led him to where the group of separated teens was. Soft footsteps to my right, and Gabriel was at my side again. The guards simply moved to the side to let us through. As we walked away, the gaze of the blueblood who almost shot me lingered for a few seconds before turning back to the bigger group to do his job. Like nothing had happened.

We didn’t bother asking anyone whether or not we belonged in this group, we just knew. There were a few moments of silence before Kailla continued to pick out people for our group, in a much softer voice, I noticed. My eyes flicked to the people around me. They looked at the three of us with mixed emotions. Not many looked necessarily friendly, but their eyes were better than the troll’s.

The first girl we saw to be chosen made her way over to us. Her gaze was somehow piercing and soft at the same time. Her steps were near silent, but carried a steady weight.

“That was stupid.” her voice was quiet, but the disapproval laced in her statement was clear.

“I helped him.” I responded, only a little bitter. After jumping in front of a gun and saving this boy, somehow her blunt statement made my cheeks burn with anger and shame. A little credit, please.  


Her eyes narrowed in stern worry. “You sound like shit.”

“Can you blame me?” I shot back.

The corners of her mouth lifted in a small smile. 

“I guess not. But it’s your own fault. I’m Nora.” She said her name with an ounce of pride I didn’t think was possible in our situation. The sudden turn around from hostility to almost endearment just about gave me whiplash.

“Elie.” I held out my hand, tentatively, and she took it. It was a miracle that we could find that small bit of civility within chaos. Especially after she had called me stupid.

“Jackson.” Said a hoarse voice. I turned to see the red faced blonde boy trying to regain his composure. I nodded, but he pulled me in for a crushing hug. 

“Thank you.”

 

We spent the next few minutes in silence, watching as a few more people joined us in our group. Kailla scanned the clipboard before nodding to the Hussie that she was done, and moved to us. Hussie moved instead to the other humans. Hussie started addressing the guards near him as the bluebloods around us started pushing the group away. I threw a look backwards glance at the other humans. Hopefully they would all be ok. I kind of wish some of our group could have gone with them to explain what was going on. Maybe that’s why Hussie had us separated, to keep them in the dark. 

A blueblood jabbed the end of their gun between my shoulder blades, a clear message to move. I turned my head back to the front and caught up to Gabriel, Jackson, and Nora. I could see the worry in their eyes too. Kailla lead the group towards an arched doorway to our left. Before we went into the hall, out of the corner of my eye I spotted the violet blood on the walkway above us. He was flanked by other trolls, but he wasn’t looking at them.

He was looking straight at me.

Man, this is a weird day for eye contact.

We locked eyes as I continued walking. His expression was intense, like he was asking me a question and demanded an answer. I tried not to let any emotion leak into my face. I instantly didn’t like this strange troll. For a moment, the image of flashing him a wink and double pistols crossed my mind, but considering the situation, it probably wasn’t the best response to unwanted attention. I blamed the absurd idea on exhaustion. Our group walked on, and as we passed under the doorway, I let out a breath I didn’t know that I had been holding.

Kailla led us deep into the ship, and up several flights of stairs. We were all swaying on our feet, trying not to fall asleep. Finally we reached a simple set of white double doors. Above the entrance was a plaque with a string of Alterinan letters and numbers on it, but I was too tired to think of what it could say. The doors were thrown open to reveal a common room of sorts. In the center were four rectangular tables with stools stored underneath. Lining the walls were rows of doors and windows that offered a wide view of spartan bedrooms. A set of stairs flush to the far wall led to another floor of these rooms. High above us was another domed window showcasing the starry sky. Once we had all filed in, Kailla turned on a heel to address us.

“It’s been a long few hours. Find a room and get some sleep. Extra blankets and pillows are in the closet.” A slender gray hand gestured to a door next to the stairs. “Soon, everything will be explained.”  
Kailla’s sharp, slanted eyes shot over the group. “It would be in your best interest not to cause any trouble. The earth is miles of empty space away, and the entire ship has orders to report any humans out of bounds. Don’t give them a reason to put a hole in your chest.” With that, the olive troll walked through the group, and out the doors. All of the bluebloods left as well, save for two. They turned to the group with hard looks.

“We stand guard inside and out. We make rounds to make sure you’re not screwing around. Do what the lowblood says.” said one in a gravely voice. The other troll made his way to the door, but before he did, I saw him glance at me. It was the troll I had stepped in front of for Jackson. His horns curved back over his skull like a gazelle’s, and extended an inch or two behind his head. He had a small straight nose, but a heavy jawline. His eyes were a mess of poorly hidden emotions, for what reason I could only speculate. The symbol on his chest was an incomplete circle, a the single bold arc splitting into two small offshoots about halfway around, the two points seemingly mimicking his horns. He pushed through a door to take up his post in the hall while the troll who had spoken ushered us to pick a room. 

I made my way with my three companions to the end of the ground floor, where we claimed the four rooms closest to the stairs on the right side. Mine was the third from the end, right between Nora and Jackson, with Gabriel having a view of the stairs. We all four went our separate ways with the prompting of the guard and the promise of sleep.

The room was simple. A bed in the corner, a bar mounted on the wall with a set of clothes hanging from it, a desk in front of the floor to ceiling window, and another door leading to a small toilet and shower. But I ignored everything but the bed. If a bit thin, the sheets were clean. I crawled under the covers closed my eyes.

A few minutes went by, but I couldn’t sleep. I kept wondering and speculating our purpose here on this ship. Maybe our knowledge of Homestuck made us valuable. Images from this hellish day kept slipping behind my eyelids like oil. The old man dropping to the ground. The young mom and her child. Where were they now? Adelaide crying in the elevator, and the hole in her back. My stomach coiled and twisted, disgusted and repulsed with the violence and death. My legs curled up to my chest until my knees touched my collarbone. The steady ache it caused in my back was a distraction from day’s event.

If I was being completely honest, part of me wasn’t as affected as I thought I would be. In reality, I didn’t know the two people I saw murdered. In the moment, their deaths were reality shaking, but now, in this tiny room, I couldn’t bring myself to weep. They were losses of a system that had no mercy. A system we now had to abide by, or end up like them. With those morbid thoughts, I finally slept.

Lord knows how, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :0) HoNk

**Author's Note:**

> BTW if you have notes, suggestions, or comments, I have a tumblr.  
> http://littlesongbird96.tumblr.com/  
> 


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